


White Tiger Coffee

by Pachitastic



Category: Tokyo Demons Series - Lianne Sentar
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-15
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-04-04 12:20:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4137360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pachitastic/pseuds/Pachitastic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coffee Shop AU in which Miki is a very angry barista and Ayase gets stuck as his coworker. <br/>Rated M because I have no idea where I'm going with this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	White Tiger Coffee

The little shop was tucked between two office buildings, the windows painted over with white tigers that changed every few months when the paint started going bad. It was centered between several other far more popular coffee shops, there weren’t a ton of customers, and frankly no one knew how it stayed open.

There were the rumors that it was a front for one of the local gangs, but there was no way that anyone would be so obvious! Really, a coffee shop with white tigers in the windows was too much to start with, but the fact that it was named “White Tiger Coffee” was just ridiculous.

It had to be a terrible, naive coincidence.

(It wasn’t.)

* * *

Miki stood at the sink, glaring at the faucet while cold water ran over his red, blistered hand. Usually, he was really good about not crushing the coffee cups and burning himself, no matter how angry he was. Usually, he threw the coffee at someone and burned them instead. For anyone else, this would be a moment where they learned to get a grip on their anger issues and stop burning people with coffee.

Not Miki.

“You know, you can’t throw coffee at every customer that hits on me.” His manager (of sorts) leaned against the wall, adjusting her stupid hat. He hated Takeshi for coming up with a shitty uniform for this shitty coffee shop. Even so, Mitsuko made it work, stupid had and all. Maybe it was the fact that she wore tiny shorts with her uniform and had ditched the apron entirely, or maybe it was simply the fact that she was hot and she fucking knew it.

Mitsuko was the only one he didn’t outright hate. She pissed him off plenty, but he couldn’t hate her. It was hard to hate someone you loved, even when all you’d ever had was the occasional fling that had long since stopped. Now she was dating some preppy ass fuck that sort of attended the local university but not really.

For a time, he had worked with Miki. He hadn’t even lasted a day and he ditched Miki during the lunch rush like the sorry sack of shit he was. Mitsuko wasn’t even surprised!

Miki regretted not throwing hot coffee on him.

Miki also regretted having driven off every other person he had worked with, if for no other reason than doing this job alone was awful. Mitsuko popped in here and there to work the cash register, but that was the extent of her involvement.

“Are you going to say anything or just stand there sulking over your burned hand?” Mitsuko asked, teasingly running her finger down his arm. For that, maybe Miki did hate her. Just a little.

“He wouldn’t even look at you. Just your fucking tits.” Familiar anger swelled in Miki and he clenched his fist before the pain flooded him again.

“So? It happens. I can take care of myself. Remember the guy who grabbed my ass? Remember who threw him out the door?”

Miki didn’t reply. Of course she could take care of herself but he didn’t care. Maybe he was selfish. He was definitely selfish. He wanted to protect her.

Mitsuko would have none of it though. It was probably why she left him for whatshisface.

“Have you heard from Seiya lately?” Mitsuko asked, eyes scanning the coffee shop, “I know he didn’t quit, I already checked the bathrooms.”

“Hell if I know. He was fucking useless.” Miki couldn’t make up his mind about whether Seiya dying would make his life better or worse. Honestly, he just wanted Seiya away from him. That would be more than good enough.

“Hm… Too bad. Takeshi thinks it might be worthwhile to slip something into the drinks upon request.”

“Sounds disgusting.”

“It might be. I was going to ask Seiya to test some things out. He might be high most of the time--”

“All the time.”

“... Anyway, I’d rather have Seiya be the guinea pig. I don’t want to see you stoned even a little. You’re probably paranoid and hysterical.”

“I am not.” That was a lie.

Mitsuko rolled her eyes, grabbing the first aid kit from the shelf and opening it up on the counter. From it, she pulled out a roll of gauze and a fresh tube of burn cream.

Cranking off the water, she took his hand without a word, gently patting it dry with a clean rag before generously coating the worst of the burns with the cream. In one moment, Mitsuko could be dodging blades and slicing people up; In the next, she was gentle and graceful. She wrapped his hand up with gauze, making the whole thing look effortless and simple. Miki had thought a couple of times that she would probably make a good nurse, but she always seemed more interested in sending people to the hospital rather than being at one herself.

“I’m going to find you someone to work with. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll throw coffee at less people.”

“Unlikely.”

Mitsuko wasn’t put off in the slightest, “It’ll be fun. Maybe you’ll find someone that you don’t hate with all your heart.”

“Extremely unlikely.”

Mitsuko only smiled, finishing off her handiwork, “I have a manicure to get to, so I’ll leave you be now.”

Miki was horrified, “You can’t fucking leave me here!”

But Mitsuko had already tossed her hat on the counter, blowing Miki a kiss on her way out. He was frozen in place, somewhere between angry and hurt.

At least the only other person here was the twitchy kid in the corner.  


End file.
